I've heard time and again, the big problem with converting TNG to HD is that it was rendered on VHS video tape.

But in some recent article on it, someone from CBS said that the special effects shots had been rendered in VHS. He did not say the whole series; just the FX.

Which is the case?

If it's the FX, then shouldn't it be much easier? The with people effects will still be a bit of a snag, but totally throwing away the space-based ones for new CGI stuff would solve half that issue, wouldn't it?

I've heard time and again, the big problem with converting TNG to HD is that it was rendered on VHS video tape.

But in some recent article on it, someone from CBS said that the special effects shots had been rendered in VHS. He did not say the whole series; just the FX.

Which is the case?

If it's the FX, then shouldn't it be much easier? The with people effects will still be a bit of a snag, but totally throwing away the space-based ones for new CGI stuff would solve half that issue, wouldn't it?

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TNG was shot on film but edited on video tape.
THAT is the biggest challenge of a 'remastered' TNG: The whole show will have to be re-edited on top of redoing all the VFX-composites.

I've heard time and again, the big problem with converting TNG to HD is that it was rendered on VHS video tape.

But in some recent article on it, someone from CBS said that the special effects shots had been rendered in VHS. He did not say the whole series; just the FX.

Which is the case?

If it's the FX, then shouldn't it be much easier? The with people effects will still be a bit of a snag, but totally throwing away the space-based ones for new CGI stuff would solve half that issue, wouldn't it?

Click to expand...

TNG was shot on film but edited on video tape.
THAT is the biggest challenge of a 'remastered' TNG: The whole show will have to be re-edited on top of redoing all the VFX-composites.

Click to expand...

Yep. And you have a ton of episodes. And how much of that film is lost or damaged?

But... if you want a hi-res effect for TNG, the solution is easy.

First, get the series on a DVD transfer. Second, watch the show on the smallest size high-definition screen you can find. The picture will be tiny, but incredibly clear. LOL

This is in the category of 'nice to have'... but sounds like its just not going to happen. The economics are awful (lots of cost, fewer buyers) than TOS, and the added steps sounds significant. And the DVDs stand up quite well, all said and done.

I don't really care if they "enhance" it. And for remastering I'd settle for cleaning it up a bit.

My only problem with the DVDs is how pixelated everything looks--especially the nacelles/engines and the credit fonts. Sometimes the credits are unreadable.

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I agree. You could certainly clean up the fonts and enhance the image a little.

Indeed, you might redo some dodgy effects shots and then add in a little grain and noise to make it match the rest of the shots. You could redo all the exterior shots and just fuzz them up enough to have the viewer believe they were watching the same show.

I say go big or go home. Paramount can afford, and it is in their best interest going forward to re-edit these eps from the original negatives, and create new FX. I would suggest, however, and Mr. Okuda can tell me if I'm wrong, but they should not try to do it on a weekly schedule to meet syndication needs. Perhaps they could do Season One first, taking their time and syndicate that whole season, while they do the following seasons. This would give them more lead-time to get it right without the time pressures the TOS-R crew were under.

I'm with those who would buy a "best of" set of 10-20 episodes. Do we REALLY need a re-editted and remastered "Shades of Gray"? Hell no. But I'd brave hell and high water for a hi-def "Yesterday's Enterprise" with CGI models of two Enterprises tangling with a bunch of Klingon warships.

I'm with those who would buy a "best of" set of 10-20 episodes. Do we REALLY need a re-editted and remastered "Shades of Gray"? Hell no. But I'd brave hell and high water for a hi-def "Yesterday's Enterprise" with CGI models of two Enterprises tangling with a bunch of Klingon warships.

If they are going to do it, I'd rather wait until they can afford to do it properly. To have to start from scratch in the editing suite is the biggest cost.

If they wait a decade then I think it would be worth it. Heck, by then they could remaster it in 3D with all new effects for the cost that it would cost to do the remastering alone at today's economics.

I think it's too soon. But it would be great if we could wait and have it done properly, and amazingly.

If they are going to do it, I'd rather wait until they can afford to do it properly.

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The longer you wait, the more the film degrades, the harder it is to track down errant film canisters, and so on.

If they were to do it right, I'd say they'd need to start the archival and transfer process of the original film footage ASAP.
It would take a while to simply assemble the footage, organize it, and index it. The next step of reproducing the TV edits from all the film would take a ton of time by itself.

I don't really care if they "enhance" it. And for remastering I'd settle for cleaning it up a bit.

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What would be the point of "cleaning up" videotape footage.

My only problem with the DVDs is how pixelated everything looks--especially the nacelles/engines and the credit fonts. Sometimes the credits are unreadable.

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The picture can't get much better unless they go back to the filmed footage. The best the series could ever look is "Trials and Tribble-ations" from the TOS blu-ray; and it doesn't look all that much better from the DVD version. Most people wouldn';t even notice a difference in the picture quality. THat would hardly justify spending any kind of money on this project just for people to say, "Yeah... I think it looks a little clearer."

You have to go back to the film. That means reediting every episode all over again.

Indeed, you might redo some dodgy effects shots and then add in a little grain and noise to make it match the rest of the shots. You could redo all the exterior shots and just fuzz them up enough to have the viewer believe they were watching the same show.

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Except then you're missing the whole point of the project, which is to create HD versions of TNG. The new FX are, unfortunately, necessary to accomplish that goal, but the new FX themselves aren't the purpose of the project.

If they were to do it right, I'd say they'd need to start the archival and transfer process of the original film footage ASAP.
It would take a while to simply assemble the footage, organize it, and index it. The next step of reproducing the TV edits from all the film would take a ton of time by itself.

Click to expand...

I don't think that would be practical. Why transfer the tons of film that wasn't used to get the, presumably, much fewer shots that actually were used in the episodes? I would think they'd want to find the right shots first, then transfer them, then edit them.

Except then you're missing the whole point of the project, which is to create HD versions of TNG. The new FX are, unfortunately, necessary to accomplish that goal, but the new FX themselves aren't the purpose of the project.

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Depends on how you define "new FX" - transporter/replicator effects, phaser shots and the like would need to be redone from scratch, true; but all the model shots were done on 35mm, and could be recomposited/reedited with the rest of the footage if the will existed* - they'll need to recomposite every viewscreen & monitor shot anyway.

[*The new CGI ship shots for TOS were required because they used the film episode masters, with umpteen layers/generations of compositing artefacts visible. Since equivalent masters don't exist for TNG, using the original model shots is peversely more achievable despite the extra work.]

Look...the CBS guy says it WILL happen...its a question of overcoming a few problems. I can see WHY it will happen...STNG is its most popular ST "product"...they want to release it on HD as much as they did TOS, if not more so...they are going to make it happen. This is not Space 1999 or The Invaders...it was a BIG show with high ratings. They have the crew that worked on it more or less intact to supervise if necessary. HD formats, primarily Blue-ray are obviously the future and they will want to continue the ongoing popularity and moneymaking of ST. Also, the FX will probably be "state-of-art", and will be great quality, as opposed to the holding back on TOS-R to make it appear to date from the 60s. I think they'll be looking to exercise some of the top capabilities of CBS Digital.